I wasn’t too shocked to learn that some organizations are against the passage of the medical marijuana laws. What did shock me were the reasons these entities have for opposing passage of this legislation.
The Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America’s goal is the prevention of dangerous drugs and is supported by Purdue Pharma — a manufacturer of oxycontin. Oxy is an addictive opioid like morphine. People in the U.S. take 84 percent of the world’s supply of oxycontin and almost 100 percent of hydroquinone opioids.
Since medical marijuana’s purpose is to alleviate pain (same as oxy) one can easily see the conflict of interest here.
The Partnership for Drug-Free Kids also gets a major portion of its funding from opiate manufacturers and other pharmaceutical companies which are also against passage of medical pot.
Police agencies are another group concerned with legalizing pot. Starting with Reagan, police departments were encouraged to seize and sell property connected with drug busts. This really improved their financial security. John Lovell (California lobbyist) earns his keep by channeling federal “drug war” grants to law enforcement agencies. A police newsletter in Florida stated that the state’s pot eradication program brought in nearly $900,000 last year in forfeitures. The paper called it “an excellent return on investment.”
Last of all, prisons. In Minnesota, marijuana arrests account for 60 percent of drug arrests so it’s big business for law enforcement. The American Civil Liberties Union found that marijuana arrests account for more than half of all drug arrests nationwide. If we legalized pot, we might have to close some prisons. Is that a bad thing?
Smoking pot is as unhealthy and addictive as smoking cigarettes. What we need is federal regulation of quality and sales of the drug. In Colorado, two toddlers (different families) have been hospitalized because they ate marijuana-laced cookies which are sold at pot stores in that state.
It’s all about profit.
— Alice Kaczmarek, Rockford
Letter: Marijuana legislation is all about profit
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